Tuesday, August 15, 2006
Paris, France, 24 Dec 2003: Notre Dame de Paris
Christmas Eve Mass
     Christmas Eve. Crowds pack into the cavernous Notre Dame Cathedral for Evening Mass. As the congregation waits eagerly in anticipation, the altar cross becomes brightly illuminated, drawing all attention to the Pieta at the base of the cross. |
| After the service, the men and boys' choir sings a plaintive French carol as the congregation files out of the pews. Some linger on wistfully. |
| Outside, Notre Dame's mighty bells toll resoundlingly. More worshippers crowd into the square in front of the cathedral doors, all queueing patiently for coveted seats to the Midnight Mass. |
Labels: architecture, event, France, music, Paris, religious site
Sunday, July 16, 2006
Monte Carlo, Monaco, 28 May 2006: Formula 1
Grand Prix Rally
     |
 All over Monte Carlo, tall barricades block public view of the race track. Grandstand seats cost a few hundred Euros each. Other vantage points - bridges, terraces - are zealously guarded. No one gets past these keen-eyed officers without a valid ticket pass.   |
 For the determined, it is still possible to steal a peek of the racing action for free. Follow the crowd uphill to a knoll overlooking the port. The outdoor dining area of a cafeteria at the peak offers a panoramic view. The race begins. The air reverberates in a long guttural roar as cars thunder past. |
Labels: Cote d'Azur, event, Monaco, Monte Carlo
Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.5 License
These are the 30 countries that I have ever set foot on. Airport stopovers don't count!
